Nine Short Bingo Fics
by x Varda x
Summary: Blood! Pain! Torture! Semi-naked dancing! Carrots! 9 x short fics written for stargateland's bingo challenge over on LiveJournal. All are gen. All but one are Rodney centric whumpfics.


9 x fics written for **stargateland**'s bingo challenge. All are gen. All but one are Rodney centric whumpfics :D Ratings from U (G) to 15 (PG13)

I give you: **Blood! Pain! Torture! Semi-naked dancing! Carrots!**

Titles and word counts:-

Question (298) - Smile (847) - Night (131)  
>Outdoors (265) - The Blaster (811) - Groovy (413)<br>Family (1025) - Sweet (776) - Opposite (1460)

**Question** (warning for implied torture)

The man asked, "What is your name?"

"You already know what it is," Rodney answered in a breathless voice.

"You did not answer the question. I ask again: what is your name?"

"If your intention is to carry on, then why don't you ask me something important? What's the gate address for Atlantis? What's your IDC?" Rodney winced and for a moment there was only a quiet dripping sound.

"I am asking the question and you will answer. What is your name?"

"I... I'm not... _saying."_ Rodney's breath hitched and he gasped. He cried out, "Y-you can't break me!"

"It is only a very easy question, surely you know your name?"

There was a soft snick and Rodney shouted, "I'm not telling you!"

"Make this easy on yourself. All you have to do is answer one tiny inconsequential question and then you will be free. What is your name?"

"I won't break. I won't break. I won't break." Rodney kept up his mantra until there was a quiet swish and he had to pause so that he could let loose a scream. After a moment, his muttering resumed, accompanied by an almost imperceptible metallic patter. "I won't break." Gasp. "I won't break. I won't break."

"You are already broken, so what is the harm in telling me your name?"

"Can't play tricks on me! You know who I am already. I won't tell."

"Those you are protecting will never come for you, so you may as well give up."

There was a thud and Rodney grunted. "No no no no no! C-can't tell you. Th-they will come and kill you."

"And what am I to call you when they do?"

Rodney opened his eyes and smiled and for a moment his pain and hysteria were forgotten. "Your End."

xxx

**Smile** (Part II after Question)

John pressed the trigger in his hand and listened to the explosion a short way down the corridor he was storming with a squad of marines, Ronon and Teyla.

Rodney had been missing for a couple of days now and had eventually been tracked down to this dark and damp underground bunker on the same planet where he had disappeared.

John had only had to turn his back for a moment and Rodney had been swiped. The planet was highly populated, at least by Pegasus standards, and it had been hard to find Rodney in amongst the thousands of citizens. But a quick word from a government official once John had mentioned unstoppable spaceships with weapons of tremendous destructive capabilities and the co-ordinates of the underground base were his.

John was first to go into the room once the smoke and dust began to clear. He quickly assessed the situation and popped two bullets from his P90 into the chest of the man hovering over a metal table holding what looked like a corkscrew.

Marines swarmed in around him and checked the room, reporting back, "Clear!" with each corner and then taking up defensive positions.

John hardly took any notice as he was joined by Teyla and Ronon and they approached the man on the table. "Rodney?" Teyla gasped.

"Carson and his team are on the way," a marine announced.

Rodney winced and pulled against the restraints tied cruelly tight around his wrists and ankles. Purple bruises extended beyond the bindings where he had struggled and he continued to tug mercilessly as his eyes widened in horror and he breathed heavily in panic. As they got closer, it became apparent that his lips were moving and he was repeating the same two words over and over again: "Won't tell. Won't tell. Won't tell…"

"Rodney," John said. "We're here. You're safe."

They undid the bindings and Rodney flailed out at them, catching Ronon squarely on the jaw and making him stagger. Ronon quickly recovered and easily grabbed Rodney's hand to prevent further injury.

"What the hell is this hovel?" a Scottish accent reached them. "Why has it always got to be some dungeon?" He stopped when he saw Rodney lying on the table and schooled his features. He quickly approached and laid his hands on Rodney's shoulders which had the desired effect of calming the injured man. Rodney finally stopped struggling against his team mates and relaxed.

Other than the bruises, there were no other apparent signs of injury, but he was still fully clothed in his black and slightly dirty offworld t shirt and trousers. And there had been that corkscrew contraption…

"I'm just going to check you over and make sure he didn't do anything nasty," Carson said as Rodney's frightened eyes followed his every move.

"No apparent head injury, eyes are clear," Carson said as Rodney cringed away from the penlight.

"I'm not telling you," Rodney said as Carson palpated his chest.

Rodney sucked in a breath and flinched when Carson's hands reached the right side of his chest. "Aye, bruised, possibly broken ribs. You're being very brave, Rodney. Just a little longer."

"I w-won't say!" Rodney said once he had recovered.

"Say what?" John asked.

Carson found a few small bleeding wounds in Rodney as he continued his examination. "Penetrating stab wounds to the lower left abdomen and right leg. I can't feel any internal bleeding, but we'll need to hurry him back to Atlantis for a full scan."

Ronon had retrieved the corkscrew device and held it out so that Carson saw its curling blade. It was a rusty red colour and Carson shook his head and furrowed his brow when he saw it. "Aye, that's what did it."

"No. You can't make me! And I w-won't say!"

"What do you mean, Rodney?" Teyla asked as she moved round and took hold of his hand.

"Questions questions questions," Rodney said, closing his eyes and moving his head from side to side as if fending off punches. "My name! I don't remember it! You don't need to know it and I won't tell. Won't tell. Won't tell."

Carson checked Rodney's eyes again. "There is a slightly abnormal dilation of his pupils. He may have been drugged, but we won't know until we can do his bloodwork."

John narrowed his eyes and said, "Your name is Doctor Rodney McKay."

Rodney stopped moving and his eyes widened as he looked at John in shock. "That's it!" He said triumphantly. "I was right!" He muttered to Carson as the doctor cleaned and bandaged Rodney's injuries. "I had almost forgotten!"

The corners of Rodney's mouth curled up a little, the muscles aching from disuse for so long and for the first time since his rescuers arrived he looked around at them. Really looked _at_ them, instead of focusing inward on his trauma. "You came," he said. "I knew you would and all I had to do was hold on and not say anything, which I didn't!"

John grinned at him. "You did good."

And Rodney smiled back.

xxx

**Night**

Night came at the end of the Ancient's sojourn in the Pegasus Galaxy after the Wraith had overrun their realm and they were forced to flee from the relentless onslaught.

Night fell on Atlantis when the Ancients left. Cast down into darkness, the city lay slumbering on the ocean floor. It could have stayed that way for eternity until it was flooded, rusted and forgotten, doomed to remain in shadow forever.

For ten thousand long years the city was dark. Even the sunlight above could not reach through the ocean depths to cast any rays upon the mysterious spires.

Until one day, when nearly all power was gone, the stargate activated and the descendants of the Ancients along with their human companions from Earth brought the city back into the light.

xxx

**Outdoors**

Rodney McKay fell into a bush. He swore that he didn't do it on purpose, but that someone had placed the offensive plant right in his way. He sat on the ground after Ronon had extracted him, holding his ankle and grimacing.

"Why do we have to do extreme orienteering on every offworld mission we go on?" He complained as John gently tested the maligned limb.

"We are walking to the campsite we have chosen," Teyla said as she kept a lookout.

"It's fun, McKay," Ronon said.

Rodney grumbled, "Yes, _fun,_ right. This is me, having fun." He winced as John found a tender area.

John patted Rodney's shoulder, it doesn't feel broken, but we'd better go back and get you x-rayed."

Teyla sighed and spoke to Ronon quietly, "I sometimes wonder if Dr. McKay intentionally hurts himself to avoid having to spend any time out in the fresh air."

Rodney, so long a leader for his own team of scientists, had honed his hearing over time and heard what she said. "There's plenty of fresh air in the labs! But no ankle breaking shrubs in the way."

Ronon smirked, "Perhaps if you spent more time looking where you were going and less time with technology, you might not have tripped."

"Yes, and the next time the Wraith come, we can impress them with our bush dodging and camping skills!"

John deftly wrapped a bandage around Rodney's ankle, and together his team helped to support him as he limped his way back to the gate. There would be no team camping trip for a while.

xxx

**The Blaster**

Just after Ronon arrived on Atlantis, Rodney became very interested in the strange, but powerful, alien blaster weapon he wielded.

So much so, that he arranged for Ronon and his gun to come to the labs one day. He still had a guard with him at all times and Rodney couldn't understand why Ronon, quite clearly a scary, aggressive and dangerous man, had been allowed to keep his gun. It just so happened that it was John on guard duty when Ronon entered the labs.

Rodney stood several paces away looking wide-eyed at the tall Satedan warrior. His hands were twitching in front of him, as though he wanted to run up and grab the gun and start examining it.

Ronon was staring at him, but his face remained neutral and he didn't seem to be blinking.

John was nearby, watching the situation unravelling.

"Can I?" Rodney squeaked. He cleared his throat and his voice lowered slightly, "Can I have a look at your gun?"

Ronon's eyes widened slightly.

"Uh, _please?"_

Ronon unholstered the blaster and Rodney flinched. But Ronon merely checking the setting was on stun and flipped it over so that the handle was pointed at Rodney. The scientist was going to have to get within striking distance to pick it up.

Rodney didn't move and eyed the weapon instead of the warrior now. "So, uh, it's energy, but you've been living in places that may not have supplies. H-how do you recharge it?"

"Sun."

Rodney's eyes widened and some of the terror slipped away to be replaced by curiosity. "Oh." He took a tentative step forwards, grabbed the blaster and began talking to himself. "Maybe we could reverse engineer it to build more... or scan it to see how it works. But the best way as always would be to take it apart..."

He slipped the energy cartridge out, but before he could examine the inside of the chamber, he was viciously elbowed in the throat and chest and fell down onto his back.

While Rodney was falling, Ronon somehow managed to relieve him of the blaster, reassemble and power it on. He pointed it at Rodney's face.

The heavy muscle mountain that was Ronon straddled Rodney and a hard knee pushed into his chest. His ribs creaked alarmingly and he winced.

John was there in a moment and said to Ronon, "Hey, buddy. Let him go. He was only trying to see how it works."

Ronon shifted and pain shot through Rodney's pelvis from where he was being crushed. Ronon increased the pressure of his knee and moved it until it was digging into the soft hollow beneath Rodney's ribs and he couldn't breathe. His face went deep red and he shut his eyes tightly.

"Ronon! Let him go!" John shouted. He had his gun out and was aiming it squarely at Ronon.

Rodney's darkly red face smoothed out and his head fell to one side as he slipped unconscious.

"Do it now or I swear I will shoot you!"

xxx

Ronon sensed that there was no longer any danger coming from the man pinned under him on the floor. He slowly released the pressure of his knee on the soft midsection beneath him.

The man remained completely still for a moment, then shuddered and took a huge wheezing drag of air before he coughed and his eyes opened wide. His colour was turning back to normal, but his skin remained flushed.

Ronon stood back and John moved in and knelt down. John grasped the man's shoulder and Ronon frowned - he still had his blaster out, but John's gun was now back in the holster strapped to his thigh.

"Rodney?" John asked in concern. "Are you alright? Should I call Carson?"

Rodney coughed again, "Broken ribs, asphyxia and a snapped pelvis? Sure, I feel better than ever!"

Even with such injuries, John helped and Rodney was able to stand up.

Ronon narrowed his eyes as Rodney glared at him angrily. "I was going to put it back together," he said, rubbing his middle and grimacing. "That's going to leave a bruise."

Ronon was not sure what to say. "Thought you'd break it."

John let go of Rodney after he'd found his feet and said to Ronon, "Dr. McKay is our head scientist. If anything breaks, he's your man. If we're under attack and guns aren't enough, he always comes through for us."

Perhaps not the best introductory meeting after all then... Ronon glanced down at his blaster and then back at McKay. "Maybe later."

Rodney shook his head and held up his hands in panic. "Well, uh, when you're ready is fine."

John nodded and patted Rodney on the back gently before he escorted Ronon from the labs.

Rodney stumbled over and collapsed heavily down into a chair and rubbed his sweaty face with shaking hands.

xxx

**Groovy**

Unluckily for Rodney, the natives on the latest planet he was visiting with his team did not take no for an answer when it came to local traditions.

"Absolutely not," Rodney said with his eyes glaring and his arms folded.

It was day time and a welcoming fire had been lit in honour of the Lantean's visit.

Teyla, ever the diplomat, held out her hands to the locals as they rounded on Rodney and he seemed oblivious to the danger he was in. She said, "Dr. McKay does not wish to take part in the ceremony, perhaps I could take his place for now?"

The locals paused and one said, "Only men."

Teyla sighed. John and Ronon had already submitted, but Rodney was being particularly stubborn. Teyla didn't blame him, but she could not protect him from a mob of fifty grass skirted, ready-painted locals if it came to that.

They tried to grab Rodney and he shouted at them, "I'm not doing it!"

The closest one hit out and punched Rodney in the face. Teyla stepped in, but couldn't prevent the second blow from landing in Rodney's gut. He doubled up and coughed.

"Stop!" Teyla shouted with her P90 trained on them. "Stop or you will make an enemy of us!"

They paused and looked at her curiously. Rodney gasped, "It's alright, Teyla. I'll do it, but no photos."

Teyla furrowed her brow, "If you do not want to, then you should not submit to their coercion."

"I don't know," Rodney straightened up with one hand resting on his belly and a split lip that was swelling up. He gestured at John and Ronon who were already stripped and re-dressed with their paint on. "It looks kinda fun."

Teyla wasn't fooled but she said, "If that is your wish, I will not stop you."

Rodney was led away and after a few minutes he joined the crowd gathered around the fire. In place of his clothes, Rodney now had a grass skirt on and his chest and face were painted in bright red, yellow, blue and green. There were also feathers stuck on him at strategic intervals.

"Cool, Rodney," John said as he and Rodney passed.

Rodney seethed and shot back, "You look like a prize turkey yourself."

John smirked. "Good."

Rodney found it hard to dance with bruises and internal bleeding, but discovered once he had got into it and saw how stupid _everyone_ looked that it was quite fun anyway.

xxx

**Family**

"I'm detecting lifesigns," Rodney said, waving his scanner about the moment his team stepped through the gate.

Ronon instantly drew out his blaster and it charged with a quick whine.

John asked, "Where and how many?"

"Just ahead of us and too many to count."

John's grip tightened on his P90. "Hostile?"

"Would you like their names too?" Rodney ground out.

"That would be most helpful," Teyla said with a tiny smile.

Rodney sighed mightily and stomped forwards with his team all around him in protection while he was inattentive to his surroundings. The planet was warm and palm trees swayed around them where they grew from the gritty, light soil. The team had all left their jackets behind and Rodney scratched at his bare forearm, then rubbed in some more foul smelling sun cream.

Rodney huffed and shook his shoe. "That's going to grate."

The land was hilly such that it was impossible to see very far unless you happened to be standing on top of one of the dune-like humps. After about twenty minutes of traipsing up and down the dunes, Rodney held up his hand. "We're close. Right ahead there are several life signs of varying sizes."

"A village?" Teyla asked.

"Possibly."

John and Ronon took point as they walked to the top of the dune. They stopped once they reached the peak and both men dropped to the ground in silence.

Rodney called out to them, "What is it? What do you see?"

"Shh, McKay," John whispered back to him, but it was too late.

Ronon grunted as he leapt up, "Teyla. McKay. Run!"

"What?" Rodney asked without moving.

There was a squawk and a low roar that didn't come from Ronon as both he and John ran down the dune and urged the rest of the team to run away as well.

Rodney frowned and had a brief glimpse of a dozen or so multicoloured feathered bird-cat creatures lolloping after them before John grabbed his arm and forced him to run too.

"I thought… humans," Rodney gasped as his feet sank into the sandy soil and they went up and down and up and down the dunes.

"It was a nest," Ronon said as though he wasn't running for his life.

John glanced behind and said, "They're still following us."

"They are protecting their offspring?" Teyla asked, slightly out of breath, but not wheezing as badly as Rodney.

Ronon grunted an affirmative as he gracefully leapt over a fallen palm.

Rodney was only able to grumble, "More of… them! Great," before the rest of his air was required for running for his life.

The planet was hot before they had started running and Rodney was soon too exhausted to keep up. He began flagging and that was the opportunity the creatures were looking for. He fell behind the rest of his team for a moment and he glanced behind in time to see one of the monsters leap into the air, using its feathered arms to gain frightening height as it pounced on him.

It wasn't particularly heavy, but the shock of the impact and the sharp claws and teeth that sank into his flesh caught Rodney by surprise and he tumbled over with the thing bearing down on him.

He cried out as the creature bared its sharp teeth and then bit the forearm he held up to ward it off. It raked its claws down him, cutting through vest and shirt and skin and he screamed.

Gunfire echoed above him, two P90s and an energy blaster and the creature soon fell from him in a blast of red light. It shook itself from the blast and then ran away - back the way it had come. The shockwave of the stun transferred into Rodney and he felt his muscles tingling, but it was minor in comparison to the pain of the cuts.

"We're close to the gate," Ronon said.

John and Teyla wrapped what bandages they had around Rodney's arm and around his middle to cover the cuts on his back and chest and sides. His clothes were tattered and ruined and he was lying in the sand which was now plastered to the bloody cuts on his back. He whimpered every breath while they worked and John said, "We'll have to send back some zoologists to see if they're intelligent or if it's okay to eat them."

Rodney blinked through his watering eyes. "St-stuff their feathers in p-pillows for t-trading."

Ronon was keeping an eye out and said, "Make arrows from their bones."

Teyla was looking horrified, but when Ronon looked at her, she understood that maybe they did not really mean what they were saying. She said, "Boil their entrails for broth."

Rodney clutched at the bandages wrapped around him. "It made a meal of _my_ entrails."

"The cuts aren't that deep, Rodney," John said.

Rodney winced and drew in shallow, rapid breaths. "Hurts."

Teyla furrowed her brow as she tied off the last bandage. "It will not do so for much longer. Should one of us return to the gate and call for assistance?"

"Can you walk, McKay?" John asked.

"Help… me up."

John grabbed Rodney's hand and pulled the injured man to his feet. He swayed a little and held himself stiffly, but didn't fall as he started to shuffle back towards the gate.

Ronon and Teyla kept a close eye on the land behind and around them, but the creatures did not return.

"What are we going to call them then?" John asked.

"Catirds," Rodney breathlessly suggested. "Birats."

"Hmm," John glanced around at the trees for a moment. "Carrots."

"Nice try," Rodney wheezed. "But that name's already in use."

"Badcattosaurs," John said with a smirk.

"More like badcrittersaurs!" Rodney said with equal mirth, despite the injuries he had sustained at the claws of the creatures.

John and Rodney continued in the same way all the way back to the gate, much to Teyla and Ronon's consternation. But at least it was distracting Rodney from the trail of blood he was leaving in his wake as he dripped into the sand from the painful cuts.

xxx

**Sweet**

Rodney sat at the edge of the meeting hall where he and John were making nice with a regular trading partner. He was pale and clammy and shaking like a leaf.

John asked, "Rodney, have you eaten anything today?"

Rodney blinked up at him. "Sure. I had breakfast."

"That was hours ago, it's way past lunchtime."

"Hmm, I got a little sidetracked in the labs and the next thing I know, you're on the radio calling me to the gate room."

"Did you pack any food at all?"

Rodney's face fell as he patted himself down and then checked through all of his pockets without luck. "I didn't have time."

John left Rodney sitting on the bench as he approached the native leader and said, "My companion isn't very well, you don't have any food he could eat, do you?"

"Unwell, you say? Our Healer should be able to assist."

"All that he needs is food and he'll be fine."

"I insist that you allow our healer to take a look at him, we have many medicines you have probably not seen."

John was dubious, but for the sake of relations, he went along with it. Rodney was still conscious and moaning, so a couple of minutes couldn't hurt.

The healer went to Rodney and passed him a small bottle. "It cures hunger, headaches and sadness," the healer assured him.

"It tastes like liquid sugar," Rodney said with a smile. "I could learn to like being ill here. I'll die, but not today."

John grinned as the healer took the bottle back from Rodney.

Rodney's smile faded and he began to frown. John noticed and crouched down so that he could peer up into Rodney's face. "What is it, McKay?"

"I, uh, I don't know. I feel a little bit dizzy, like I can't get enough air."

"It is a bit stuffy in here, let's go outside."

Rodney nodded and stood, then promptly fell over, his breathing now audibly laboured and his eyes tightly closed in discomfort.

"McKay!" John shouted in surprise.

"Citrus!" Rodney wheezed. "I thought it was… alright."

"It was! I tested it myself," John said in shock as he tore open his tac vest pocket and drew out an epi-pen.

Rodney was gasping ineffectual breaths and his face had turned bright red as he clawed at his throat. John knelt down and stuck the epi-pen in Rodney's leg. He flinched and stopped moving as the adrenaline coursed through him and allowed him to breathe again.

"What is happening?" The native leader asked in concern.

"My friend had an allergic reaction to something," John said.

"The sugary stuff," Rodney croaked.

The leader bowed his head, "Please accept our sincerest apologies, had we known…"

"It's alright."

"Easy for you to say. Dying here," Rodney ground out from his position on the floor.

"Would you mind if I took a sample of the medicine you used and then took him back to the gate?"

"Please do," the leader said and gestured for the healer to bring forth his bottle which was handed to John.

"Thanks."

"Will he be alright?" The healer asked.

"He should be if I can get him back to my people."

The healer watched as John retrieved Rodney from the floor and helped him struggle back to the gate.

xxxx

Carson analysed the medicine Rodney was given while the man himself slept off the ill effects of the allergic reaction. He was drugged to the gills and incoherent and would be for several hours until Carson was sure the liquid his body found poisonous had worked its way out of his system.

"So, hidden citrus?" John asked Carson as the man stood with the test results in front of him.

"Actually, no. There are no traces of citrus fruit or any other of Rodney's known allergens in this."

John frowned, "What is it then?"

"I tested a few ingredients on Rodney's arm while he has the drugs in him. It's a new allergen, or at least, one he's not been exposed to before. It seems to be plant based and must have been in the liquid he was given."

John grimaced, "So from now on, no more sampling weird and wonderful offworld food and drink?"

"Aye, that would probably be best. At least until we devise a way of testing for the allergens before Rodney consumes them."

John glanced over at Rodney while he slept and sighed. It was going to be hard to break this to him when he woke up. But John was sure that if anyone could find a way to test food and drink, Rodney could.

xxx

**Opposite**

Sheppard, in his wisdom, decided that instead of the scientists hosting their monthly chess tournament and wiping the floor with any military people who took part, that the military would run a contest of their own. His intention was to show the scientists that physical skill was just as important as brain power for the survival of the Atlantis Expedition personnel.

Rodney McKay had to be dragged away from the lab and his 'very important cataloguing that couldn't wait an hour' in order to take part.

John Sheppard stood up on the steps in front of the gathered people in the gate room as he did his pep talk. "We found a training mission in the Ancient database, but instead of just using it for training military personnel, we thought we'd make it a contest."

"Of clever versus stupid," Rodney grumbled from where he stood with his arms folded and flanked by scientists who also had their arms folded in the same way. Everyone heard him.

John carried on regardless, "The task is to reach the golden thimble, and not to get shot by any hostiles. Dr. McKay is to choose a team of two other scientists who will go first and once they have finished, Major Lorne and his two chosen companions will go next. Whoever gets the shortest time is the winner." John glanced down at Rodney's group.

"This is a challenge of evasion and tactics. The doors through the course are open."

Radek put his scanner away with a sigh and Rodney muttered, "This is such a waste of time."

"Remember that the clock is ticking and you might not want the opposition to win."

Rodney glanced around at his team. "Radek, Miko. Let's go."

They headed towards the door John had indicated. Radek passed his scanner to Miko and Rodney had already drawn his out from his pocket. Once they went through the door, it slammed behind them and the corridor was silent.

"I'm not picking up any life signs," Rodney said. "There are some power readings but they aren't localised."

Miko was looking in awe at Rodney rather than her scanner and said, "I am most honoured that you chose me."

Rodney waved her off. "Well, make yourself useful."

Miko blushed and bowed her head. "Oh, I will, of course."

Radek stepped forwards and pushed his glasses up as he squinted down the corridor. "Did you see that?"

Rodney looked up. "Hmm?"

"I do not know. It looked like a person."

Rodney sighed in annoyance and said, "No life signs, remember?"

Miko said, "It may not be a person, but what is causing the energy readings."

"Let's see what's here," Rodney said.

They had only moved a few paces when a bright white spectral image floated across the corridor in front of them. Rodney pulled Miko and Radek behind a pillar and motioned for them to be quiet while he whispered, "It's a hologram, but I'm betting it's programmed to see and react to us."

"We could shut them down," Miko said with a sly smile. She touched her scanner. "This area has been specifically chosen to avoid all control access points."

Rodney asked, "What about inside one of the off limits rooms?"

Miko checked again, "Yes. There is one in this very corridor, but it will take too much time to unlock and the hologram would notice us."

"Then let us sneak past this one and try the next corridor," Radek said.

Rodney glanced around the edge of the pillar and motioned for them to be silent as they followed him out. They made it past and behind the next pillar without incident.

Rodney went over to the door and unlocked it. "Stand guard out here," he instructed his companions as he went inside the lab. There was a single console and he tapped a few buttons.

Suddenly the door slammed shut, sealing him off from the rest of his team. Spectres began materialising in the room and drifting towards him. Rodney's heart sped up in fright before he got a hold on himself. They were only holograms, but it was still unnerving. They held small spears in their hands, which were weapons Rodney had never seen before in the Ancient database.

One approached him and thrust the spear forwards into his middle. Rodney rolled his eyes and said, "You can't touch me!" He stumbled and then noticed that his insides felt a little cold, which was strange because holograms shouldn't have any effect on what they touched or passed through.

He frowned and looked down at himself. He was shocked to see that the spectre was no longer holding the spear and it had remained embedded in his side. His shirt around the protrusion was growing darker. "What is this, Star Trek?" he mumbled as he sunk down to the floor and curled around the increasing pain. He didn't even have the strength to reach up and tap his radio to call for help before his awareness fled. The spectres swarmed around him, their mission complete as he lay in a growing pool of his own blood.

xxx

Radek and Miko quickly got the door open and both gasped in shock at the spectres filling the room. Radek saw through the spectres to where Rodney lying unconscious on the floor with a white object protruding from his midsection. He quickly tapped his radio as the holograms rounded on them. "There has been an accident! Shut down the simulation and send a medical team to our current location."

The spectres and the spear imbedded in Rodney all vanished and the blood pool under the hurt scientist rapidly grew. Miko stood rooted to the spot as her face paled and her hands began to shake. Radek ran over to Rodney and knelt down, pressing his hands against the wound to try and staunch the flow. He hands were soon slick and slippery and made a sickening squelchy slapping sound as he adjusted the position of them on Rodney's abdomen.

Rodney drew in a sharp breath and flinched, before he became unresponsive again.

Radek turned to Miko. "Help me, or he will die from blood loss before the medical team arrive!"

Miko was trembling, her face ashen, but she went over and removed her jacket and passed it to him. Radek bunched it up and held it to the wound. Miko furrowed her brow and knelt down as she took over from Radek to apply pressure to the injury.

The medical team soon arrived and Carson's people lifted Rodney up onto a gurney where he promptly ruined a set of clean white sheets, along with fresh bandages and the scissors used to cut away his shirt. "What happened to you, Rodney?" Carson asked no one in particular. "Offworld is bad enough, but Atlantis is supposed to be safe unless we're under Wraith attack."

Radek held Miko's upper arm where she was visibly shaking and said, "Come on, let's go and get ourselves cleaned up and then go and find out what happened."

xxx

It was a whole day before Rodney began to stir and John sat in the third chair next to Rodney's bed in the infirmary. Radek and a much calmer Miko occupied the other seats as they had done during waking hours since the incident.

"This is all my fault," Miko said sadly without looking up from where her hands fidgeted in her lap. "If I had not suggested that we cheat..."

Radek said. "It is no-one's fault."

John shifted uncomfortably. "There was nothing in the database about solid hologram weaponry. I thought it would be safe."

Radek glanced over Rodney where he slept the sleep of painkilling drugs and IV lines snaked around his arms. "We are still analysing the data, but it seems that it was a little more than a training simulation. Somehow the Ancients were able to create real weapons using the projections in a way that is currently beyond our understanding."

"Like the Holodeck on Star Trek?" John said with a small smile.

Miko beamed, "Yes."

"When Rodney wakes up, I'm sure he will be able to help us figure it out." Radek said.

John was just about to leave when a quiet voice asked, "Did we win?"

Miko smiled shyly at Rodney as he narrowly opened his eyes and glanced bleary eyed around at them.

"No," Sheppard said. "The military didn't even start after you got hurt."

"We did then," Rodney's eyes closed again.

"Not strictly speaking," John said.

Radek raised his eyebrows, "I think we did, actually. We certainly got further around the course than the military team, even though we didn't find the thimble."

John shrugged, "You're on for next time, once we can make it safe."


End file.
